Championship Leaders Lose To Ten-Man Norwich

Encouraging start for the new manager as Norwich upset league leaders away

Norwich City upset league leaders Bournemouth

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Bournemouth
1 Norwich City 2

Eddie Howe’s
Bournemouth suffered a surprise defeat to the ten men of Norwich City at the
Goldsands Stadium yesterday, after which they maintain their position at the
top of the Championship only on goal difference over promotion rivals Derby
County. Derby’s victory at Portman Road over Ipswich Town, thanks to another
strike from top scorer Chris Martin, ensured that County leapfrogged the Tractor
Boys into second place in the league, but level on points with the Cherries. It
ended the home side’s unbeaten run in the league at (a still impressive) fourteen
games.

Norwich rather
surprisingly appointed 33-year old Alex Neil as their new manager this week,
after the departure of Neil Adams (who resigned on Monday), perhaps as a slight
nod to the pleasing progress that the equally youthful Howe has made at
Bournemouth this season, taking the plaudits for a wonderful recent league run
that has seen the side play with attacking endeavor. Neil has joined the East
Anglian club from Scottish Premiership outfit Hamilton, where he performed the
dual roles of player and manager. He is expected to relinquish the playing side
at Norwich after signing a one-year rolling contract with them, having left
Hamilton in a solid position, third in the top league in Scotland, after
gaining them promotion the season before. Although many observers suggest that
his inexperience of the English leagues, particularly the energy-sapping
Championship, counts against him and do not expect the Canaries to push on
towards regaining the Premier League status they enjoyed last season, it was an
encouraging start to his tenure in charge at Norwich.

The home side looked
to be on their way to extending their lead at the top when midfielder Matt
Ritchie put them in front in the first-half, but were pegged back before the
break when Gary Hooper scored for Norwich. It had seemed that all of the hard
work that Neil’s charges had put in to nullify their attack-minded rivals would
be undone, when Jonny Howson saw red after a reckless challenge on Yann
Kermorgant midway through the second period. That is until striker Cameron
Jerome unleashed a wonderful strike that ended up in the top corner of the net
and put Norwich in front with ten minutes to play.

The ten men held on
for the win that may prove to be a massive boost to their promotion hopes as
they attempt to make up lost ground on the teams above them. Norwich had
slipped in the league since early season optimism when they seemed to be
scoring for fun, and were hugely disappointing in their recent FA Cup defeat at
Preston, which seems to have been the catalyst for Adams’ departure from the
club.

It was a pleasing start for Neil who, although acknowledging that his first
team playing days may be over, has not ruled out playing in the under-21s as an
overage player to educate them within a game situation. He wants to play high
energy #Football and attack the opposition, which may have been what attracted
the City hierarchy to bring him to Norwich. Beating Bournemouth gives him early
encouragement in that aim on the way to moving the team back up the league, as
they now sit just outside the playoff places.

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